Attila the Fun
Australian Doctor Attila Danko gave a rousing speech at the Global Forum for Nicotine.
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by Dave Cross
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At the beginning all vapers in the room were asked to raise a hand before requesting only those who vaped an ecig produced by Big Tobacco remained with arms aloft. Just two remained. Referring to Australia as “The Land of Ecig Prohibition,” Danko highlighted how the prohibitionists always try to link Big T to vaping.
“Did you know, that in Australia, the possession of liquid nicotine/eliquid with nicotine in it for use in e-cigarettes, is punishable with the same penalties that apply to the possession of heroin?”
Danko was switched onto the amazing possibilities posed by vaping when patients in his clinic began using ecigs to quit. He noticed how the pain and struggle of quitting through traditional means had been replaced by “excitement and enjoyment of something better.”
“Who ever knew that quitting could be fun?”
Danko was dismayed at the response of the Australian public health officials that, rather than embracing our new technology, they appeared disgusted at people enjoying themselves. More, that they convinced the government to place an outright ban on all forms of nicotine. Well, all forms that didn’t include dangerous Big T tobacco products or the failing pharmaceutical company quit aids.
“In every other field of drug use we accept the ideas of harm minimisation and harm reduction. But somehow, in Australia, nicotine and tobacco is seen as different.”
“Policy needs to be based on evidence not feelings, not concerns and not worries. And so far, as the evidence comes in, it just gets stronger and stronger that the population effects they’re so worried about are not happening. That the ‘gateway’ is Out, not Into smoking, and their concerns take on, more and more, of a quality of magical thinking.”
He pulled apart the notions surrounding the evils of nicotine, flavours and the dangers posed to children. He destroyed them by highlighting how vaping is a people’s movement – taking power away from health authorities and tobacco companies and quitting their way.
“Imagine public health campaigning against gas stoves, ‘because we’re just not sure if they’re really safe to replace wood fires with gas stoves. We don’t know the long-term outcomes’,” he said by way of parody, highlighting that gas fires have around 1% of the emissions of wood fires – similar to the 1% of vape compared to tobacco smoke.
It really is an excellent speech, we recommend you give it a listen.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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